Utah State University
AC-4: Graduate Program

Formed in 2002, the Department of Environment and Society is the first of its kind in a college of natural resources in this country and has served as a model for the development of similar departments at other institutions of higher learning. The human dimensions of ecosystem science and management program was created in response to the growing demand for professionals with the ability to analyze human and biophysical aspects of ecosystems and an ability to evaluate policies and decisions that encourage sustainability. The curriculum has its foundations in social science, with infusions of ecology and natural resource management, so that students may learn how to help individuals and organizations operate sustainably and minimize their environmental footprints. Students in the program learn to describe how human activities interconnect with the natural environments where they occur, explore options for reducing society’s impacts on the natural world, and then help turn those findings into real changes in policy, planning, land management, and human behavior. Students are also able to study topics that fit their specific research and career goals such as: environmental communication and education, sustainability, behavioral science, policy analysis, human impacts on the environment, land and resource management, conflict negotiation, and more.

The MPSH is an online, professional graduate degree program with a required internship or capstone project. The program consists of 33 semester credits, with 21 credits of required courses and 4 credits of internship experience or capstone project. The courses are designed to increase skills and expertise in all aspects of landscape water conservation. With an estimated 60% of drinking water in the western U.S. applied to urban landscapes, water conservation in the landscape is an important issue. Utah State University is the only university with a professional Master’s degree that focuses on urban landscape water conservation. Using landscape water efficiently is a multi-faceted issue involving an understanding of plant science, irrigation technologies, human behaviors, and landscape design, all set within the political and economic contexts of communities challenged to meet the water demands of growing populations. The purpose of this degree is to provide horticulturalists with knowledge and skills needed to effectively promote landscape water conservation. As water becomes more precious, the demand for these skills will continue to increase. Because USU’s MPSH program with a specialization in water-efficient landscaping is designated as a Western Regional Graduate Program, students from participating western states qualify for in-state tuition. For more information, visit http://wrgp.wiche.edu.